The first mare bred to Grade 1 winner and stakes record setter PRINCE OF MONACO has been checked in-foal, Claiborne announced Feb. 27.
The mare, Itgetsgreaterlater (Justify – Sotto Voce, by Tapit), is out of a full-sister to Cupid, earner of over $1.7 million, including victories in the Santa Anita Gold Cup (G1), Rebel (G2), Indiana Derby (G2), West Virginia Derby (G2).
Her second dam, Grade 2-placed Pretty ‘n Smart, has produced 10 winners from 10 runners. In addition to Cupid, she is the dam of graded stakes producer Heart Ashley, winner of the Miss Preakness S. (G3) and Cicada S. (G3), as well as Grade 3 winner Ashley’s Kitty and stakes winner Indianapolis. The immediate family also includes multiple Grade 2 winner Kathleen O and Grade 3 winner V V’s Dream.
PRINCE OF MONACO was one of the top dirt sprinters of his class and the only son of legendary stallion Speightstown to win a Grade 1 at age 2.
After selling as a yearling for $950,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, PRINCE OF MONACO was placed in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, where he won his first three starts.
He earned TDN Rising Star honors after his sparkling debut sprinting 5 furlongs on the dirt at Los Alamitos, which he won by a widening eight lengths as the 1-20 favorite. He then made an effortless jump into graded stakes competition with a dominant 4 ¼-length score in the Best Pal Stakes (G3) at Del Mar, completing the six-furlong race in a stakes-record time of 1:09.19 and earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Subsequent multiple Grade 1 winner Muth and Grade 2 winner Raging Torrent finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
PRINCE OF MONACO’s 2-year-old campaign was highlighted by yet another graded victory in the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1).
After standing out on the West Coast at two, PRINCE OF MONACO showed elite form on the East Coast as a 3-year-old, finishing second by a half-length in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) and second again by a neck in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1), in which he earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
PRINCE OF MONACO raced for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan.
Bred in Kentucky by Barbara Banke’s vaunted Stonestreet program, PRINCE OF MONACO is out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Rainier, who is a half-sister to stakes winners Laurie’s Rocket and Greeley’s Rocket.